Tell President Obama: Stop sales of all fossil fuels on federal lands.

Sign the petition

Petition to President Obama:

"Stopping our federal coal giveaway was an important step — but it is simply not enough. As long as you continue allowing fracking on federal lands and opening new waters to offshore oil drilling, we will fall short of needed climate pollution cuts. It’s time to stop sales of all fossil fuels on federal lands."

For decades, our federal coal giveaway has been a national embarrassment and a significant roadblock to reducing fossil fuel emissions.1 So President Obama’s announcement last week that he will put a three year moratorium on new sales of publicly owned coal is a huge victory for activists who have been urging him to keep fossil fuels in the ground.2

But the president’s singular focus on coal reflects a major blind spot in his climate policies.

Coal represents less than half of the total potential greenhouse gas emissions on federal lands.2 While tamping down on coal mining, the Obama administration has released rules that allow fracking on federal lands,3 and is moving ahead with a plan to offer up huge new areas of the Atlantic and the Gulf for offshore oil drilling.4

The urgency, and the math, of climate change leaves no time for half measures — but that’s exactly what turning a blind eye to federal oil and gas production is. President Obama should make all fossil fuels on federal lands off limits, not just coal.

Tell President Obama: Stop sales of all fossil fuels on federal lands.

Our federal lands are a huge source of global warming pollution. Nearly 25 percent of all U.S. energy-related emissions come from our public lands,5which are entirely under the president’s control.

Coal is the largest single source of those emissions, but it is not the only one. Oil and gas make up 43 percent of climate pollution from public lands. And the continued promotion of fracking and gas infrastructure carries additional consequences for the climate, as we are seeing right now with the massive Porter Ranch gas leak currently continuing in California.

The president has committed to keeping global warming below 2 degrees celsius and supported even lower targets. To meet it, up to 80 percent of fossil fuels must stay in the ground. That means the president must stand up to the oil and gas industry, not just the flagging coal industry. If he does not, he will be keeping us on a dangerous trajectory toward catastrophic global warming.

Stopping all new sales of fossil fuels on federal lands would be the largest action taken by the President to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Our voices have helped push him this far — let’s keep pushing.

Tell President Obama: Stop sales of all fossil fuels on federal lands.